Every ski area needs a featured watering hole and Mt. Bachelor's is the Clearing Rock Bar. Local lore says it was named for a geological bump on the west side of the resort, where storms first relent after their pummeling of the mountain.

Clearing Rock Bar is on the main level of West Village Lodge, the main base area for Mt. Bachelor Resort. Entry is for 21 and over exclusively.

When asked whether the bar has a signature brew, food service manager Teyanna Clevenger didn't bat an eyelash before answering, Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale. "It's named for that Red Chair right out there,'' she said.

Red Chair is most likely Oregon's biggest ski beer export, because Deschutes Brewery brews it in Bend and sells it in 35 states and provinces. The Red Chair is a classy old fixed-grip lift that has likely been around since Mt. Bachelor opened in 1958. The ski area uses it on peak days as another way up and out of West Village, and the lift is well maintained and looking better than ever.

Red Chair beer goes down as good as the Red Chair goes up. Vibe: Clearing Rock augments its food and beverage scene with ski and snow sport decorations throughout the bar, to set the after-ski mood. They recount Mt. Bachelor's long history as the busiest ski resort in Oregon, plus the beauty of its setting that is equal to any ski resort in the United States (though you wouldn't know it unless the weather clears).

The building's design makes for an interesting layout, with lots of nooks and crannies for tables, plus a mezzanine overhead and a deck outside. Just don't clunk your head on an exposed steel beam that partially obstruct a walk way (but if you can't see the beam, you probably shouldn't be skiing).
&lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7867311/"&gt;Which is central Oregon's best apres-ski spot?&lt;/a&gt;

The drink menu is filled with ski-themed names, including Yard Sale, Face Plant, White Out and Backside Nudge. You can even have Sex on the Mountain, if you're into Southern Comfort.

Adults can mix with underage skiers elsewhere in the lodge, at the beer and wine Cocoa's Cafe. Full bar service is also available at the on-mountain Pine Martin Lodge and the satellite base area, Sunrise Lodge. Since Clearing Rock stays open the latest, it's the main apres-ski hangout. Expect live music on Saturday afternoons, inside during winter and outside during spring.

Apres-ski hours are 3:30 p.m. to closing, when prices are discounted.

Location: Mt. Bachelor is 22 miles west of Bend, where West Village Lodge is the setting for Clearing Rock Bar; 13000 S.W. Century Drive.Phone, web: 800-829-2442, mtbachelor.com.Hours: Clearing Rock Bar is open 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closing depends on the level of business); the Sun Bar over at Sunrise Lodge closes at 4 p.m., the same time as the lifts.

Menu: Clearing Rock serves pub food, some of it is healthy, including the smoked steelhead caesar salad with romaine hearts, dry tomatoes, capers, horseradish and onion. But, really, according to the food service manager, the main apres-item ordered is Nacho Mountain ($15), with three choices or meat (or vegetarian chile), plus enough other toppings to make it live up to its name. And that pint of Red Chair Ale to wash it down goes for $5.75. Maybe more than you would pay in town, but this is Mt. Bachelor, so celebrate.Lodging: Drink responsibly and designate a driver, because the only lodging at the resort is RV parking, or an igloo you build outside the resort boundary. Closest lodging to the mountain, 15 miles away, is Seventh Mountain Resort, 18575 S.W. Century Drive, 541-382-8711, seventhmountain.com.